Swapped them for soundcloud links now. Another new thing for me.
You’re making good progress Phil. The blues solo sounds good with the Trio Plus backing track to my ears. Definitely one to do a Michael J Fox and go back to it in the future when you learn bends etc. You’re shaping up nicely with Every Rose Has Its Thorns and Hurt. It shouldn’t take you long to polish them up now you’ve got the progression and picking/strumming patterns memorised. Keep up the good work fella.
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Thanks for the support
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/me blows the dust of this old thread.
Well, it’s been a while since I visited my learning log. I am at a bit of a crossroads, or something that actually feels more like that crazy roundabout in Hemel Hempstead. Which was close to the Kodak Headquarters that I used to visit often,
I have continued on my learning journey, I have gone through the lessons in Grade 3, but definitely not mastered everything. I am trying to consolidate as much as I can, however there are times when I feel I am in a rut, definitely on a plateau. I haven’t recorded myself as much as I should so am at the mercy of my mind telling me that I am not improving, which I know is lying to me. Also did some blues lessons from solo blues guitar, I have the walkin easy blues in my practice everyday, but am only up to 70% speed.
Our local library has recently been built and has a recording studio that we can use, after a training session. So I went to take a look. It was interesting, not much more capability than I have at home, other than a better acoustic space and more gear. After the session, the teacher Keith invited me to come to his songwriting class.
I have been to 3 sessions, and it is less a class and more a songwriting group that he is trying to put together. Mostly different people each time, but he is trying to encourage us to write and share. I have been doing more thinking than I should and a lot of procrastinating, trying to learn how to write songs. I have a few thoughts on paper and just need to write this first stupid song, knowing it won’t be great, just to get over the hesitation I feel. The next meeting is in 2 weeks so I really need to just do it.
The leader of the songwriting group Keith, is a local musician so he told us about about mics in the area. One was in a local brewery, so I went along to scope it out. As I walked in Keith asked where was my guitar, I mentioned I only came to watch, he said if I changed my mind I could use his. The organizer of the open mic also offered his for me to borrow, Most of the people who played are local performers, so it really didn’t settle my anxiety as they were good. Although a welcoming small group who were mostly the performers. One of them ha been on American Idol and is thinking of moving to Nashville. I returned a month later with my wife in tow, and this time there was a guy who was about my level, who did borrow the organizers guitar. When he struggled others joined in to help him out. Most people play 5 or 6 songs in their set. Nobody has had any backing track/trio etc.
This has all meant that I am getting to meet other musicians in my area, and getting a bit more pressure to step up and play.
So here I sit at the roundabout, I feel I want to do everything, try writing songs, play in open mics, progress my guitar playing. All 3 things eventually align in one direction, but need time and focus themselves to improve.
My plan is to continue with Justin’s lessons,
- I think I am going to go back and consolidate what I have done rather than press on trying to add new skills. I have also added some fingerpicking to my practice sessions, which I like, but will probably not be able to sing and play at the same time for a considerable time.
- I am going to try to write a song for the next songwriting group.
- Develop a small setlist of songs to play at an open mic, learn and polish the songs
- post more AVOYP here as I progress,
- Sign up for another open Mic here. I wanted to do the next one, but not sure I have the time to get it right.
As you can see I am a little stuck in my head, I am not an extraverted front person. More an intraverted background player doubting his ability.
I know I can do it, I just have to push myself, but I will do it in my own time. It has taken me a few weeks to actually write this down, and it is probably more for me, than you, poor reader.
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Phil @philsmith
Great read.
You do sound as though you keep going round the roundabout and not sure which exit to take, I am sure you will make the right choice.
Michael
So time for an update to my learning log, and to set forth goals for the year.
I really love this community and feel that it has done so much for my guitar playing experience. I would not be as far along as I am now without it, if only I only did the lessons. I have attended most of the clubs too and I think they are a great addition, I think they provide an insight into how other people feel about topics in the moment, so you realize I am not the only one, who goes from understanding to being overwhelmed, seemingly instantly.
The community also helps me to see that others have similar hopes and reservations for things like performing and songwriting. Bottom line I just have to get over it.
Looking back on my last update, I thought I didn’t know my direction, but upon reflection, I think it summarized what I want to achieve. I also think that having a range of things on the go at any time allow me to remain interested, although probably slow down my progress.
I have been consolidating what I know in songs for grade 2/early grade 3 since the summer, adding in regular fingerpicking practice and also keeping singing. Combining fingerpicking and singing is like patting your head and rubbing your stomach still to me. At times it works and then goes off the rails.
Over Christmas I was out running with friends from the running club and they asked me to play guitar for them sometime, as they were interested. We had 12 people for dinner on New Years Eve and I decided to go for it. We stayed at the table and I played the songs I know on the acoustic. They continued to talk, so I was just background noise rather than the focus. I started to sing and got the strong hint from my wife not too. Afterwards she explained, it was causing people to focus on me, not my struggling to sing. I played 4 or 5 songs, I survived. So that is a major hurdle out of the way.
My learnings from that are it is amazing how hard it is to hear your playing with 12 people talking in a room. I was very focused on my playing, and now that I messed up a few times, but nobody cared. Most of it is a blank of what happened. They all said I was good, but nobody would really say anything else. One of them is a musician and we talk about recording and stuff when we are on our own, so I may get some thoughts from him in the near future.
I am glad I did it. I had books/sheets as a reminder, once I got each song started it was fine, without worrying about lyrics it was easier tbh. Need to get started organizing songbook pro so I can use that. I need to know the chords and strumming, as I can’t “hear” songs in my head to know the pattern without a prompt, and lyrics of course.
I have also continued going to the songwriting group, although I haven’t broken my songwriting duck yet. I have done lots of reading and youtube videos to try to learn the process, but I recognize it is just procrastination to avoid writing that first bad song and sharing it.
So my goals for the year.
- Have fun playing and learning
- Consolidate Grade 2 and work through the rest of Grade 3.
- Complete strumming SOS - incorporate different patterns into songs
- Take PMT beyond grade 1
- Practice more on electric - particularly string muting
- Embark on solo blues - licks and bending and listening
- Participate in more community OM’s
build a setlist of songs that I am comfortable with, and aspiring to - Perform at a live OM before the end of the year.
- Write and share a song at the songwriters group, and here in the community.
- Give transcribing a real effort
Boy I’m glad I’m retired with that list. I have some ideas about how to have a rotation of how to attack all that, but it needs more thought. I love Toby’s spreadsheet concept, but I know I am not disciplined enough to pull it off.
I think my wife is amazed that I have stuck with it so long, and play everyday. I am more into it now than when I first had the crazy idea to buy a guitar in 2019. That is thanks to a lot of you here for direct advice as well as the indirect learnings from reading and watching a lot of threads, even if I don’t always comment. Also watching others progress is very inspiring.
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Hehehe… interresting read Phil. I can see we have quite a lot in common in our guitar journey…
Huge Cred for playing for youre friends and wife. I can recognise the feeling, and i would have been very uncomfy doing it myself.
I have decided to take a step back and start from module 2 again. This time with electric guitar, also started on music theory, need to understand whats going on down that neck 
I also mess around with blues licks… wants to do solos, but not really there yet. Thinking about heading down the blues path, but need to finish up grade 3, came half way on it and laid it to rest for way to long…
But hey… as long as you pick up that guitar daily and having fun… all that matters!
Really hope you can cross out if not all, than most of youre goals this year!
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This weekend I participated in my first Live Open Mic at a local brewery.
As I have said before a few posts up, I have a lot of things on my things I want to do list. Sometimes it feels a little overwhelming, but I am happy with my progress this year.
- I played for friends and family - it was New Years Eve, but I’m counting it.
- I played another community Open Mic - a little less nervous
- I have written the words for a song, need to do the chords and melody part. The next songwriters group is in 3 weeks, so maybe I can flesh something out by then. I think I am going to try the dice approach as, I don’t have a musical imagination yet.
- I played at a live open mic, and stood in on the jam at the end.
In preparation for the open mics, I have chosen 5 songs. They are each a little different stylistically to try to make them interesting when I do get to perform. I have been practicing them all everyday since December, really the focal point of my playing and practicing. I have put them into songbook pro on my phone. Unfortunately haven’t got them onto my Ipad as it is too old. I am working on it.
I decided that there will never be a right time to step out in public, and the community are very supportive, so this weekend it was. I told my wife earlier in the week. She was going to attend, but in the end didn’t feel well.
I got there “early” but was still 7th on the list behind a really good player, my wife’s favorite. So I had lot’s of time to think and plan. I tuned and practiced a little before my turn.
When it was my turn, it all happened fast. I didn’t put my phone on the stand, so no lyrics. (it wasn’t a problem really). I played my 2 songs. I know I messed up some chords and lyrics. After 2 songs, I decided that I would stop at that point. I felt my brain was going to butcher other lyrics. My next song would have been Good Riddance, I struggle with the picking strings in the first verse, and I could drop that, but I feel I want to play it that way when I do it. I didn’t want to start trying to set my phone up.
Hearing my guitar and voice through monitors louder than anything I do at home was something new to me, and takes some getting used to. Playing unplugged in the jam, I couldn’t hear my guitar at all (probably for the best).
My friend Keith introduced me and said how he had been encouraging me to play. All the musician’s were very supportive, and asked if I would do it again.
The Jam at the end was something I was looking forward to, but knew would be hard. I figured I could watch chords and follow. This is where I got lots of learnings. The better players, played the chords in varying positions, their finger positions are not easy to see and especially not from the side. One guy had left a tuner on, so I could pick up some of the chords that were being played.
I expected to struggle so I stayed unplugged and spent most of the time strumming muted strings. It was really interesting to hear how they talked and communicated between each other as the songs progressed.
I have done some music theory and sort of know how to figure out the chords in the key. The speed that you have to do it, was a real eye opener. I also have been trying to practice triads and thought I could use a few shapes and play something. That was a real non starter, my mind couldn’t process shapes, frets and timing to even make it an option. One of the songs was a 12 bar blues, which was easier to follow along as it was more predictable, as Lieven said it is a good choice, although it would be a long time before I ever dream to lead anything
The experience of being on stage with a band was great. Feeling the music physically and being involved in it was great. The audience reaction even though it was for nothing I did was good. I am definitely craving more. Watching the experienced musicians navigate songs they knew and songs they didn’t was great, the chatter between them was interesting. Being able to get up and join in with people playing is what I really want to be able to do.
So for a path forward, I may relax playing my set a bit, and adding some new songs. Learning more about song structure, trying to learn 12 bar blues in different keys and forms. I also am going to try to improve my music theory particularly chords in the key.
I plan to do more with backing tracks and my Trio/looper to just get more comfortable with playing with others.
All in all a great start to the year, onward and upward. Looking forward to next month maybe. Having done it once the barrier to doing it again should be lower.
I feel like I am getting more integrated into the local music scene, which is great and fairly difficult for someone who is introverted, especially when not supremely confidant in my ability. I can get over it in a technical setting and push myself. Music is a different kettle of fish.
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Nice read Phil, thanks for sharing. Terrific for your early 2024 progress, some very big boxes ticked already!! 
Well done Phil, a great read. I’d somehow missed your last few updates so caught up.
Bravo Phil. Sounds like you have a supportive and encouraging group and are sure to come on in leaps and bounds through playing there.